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Author
Topic: AZT Phobia (Read 2527 times)

Hi everybody, I am new to the forum. Actually this is my first post. I am almost loosing my mind and I really need your help. I am 32 yo, I have been hiv positive for 5 years or so. I started meds 2,5 years ago with a viral load of over a million and CD4 count of 250. My first combo was epzicom and sustiva. My VL dropped rapidly to undetectable and CD4 count went up to 650. 2 months later my VL went up to 1000. A resistant test was taken and showed resistance to sustiva and some resistance to 3tc. I was offered to switch to AZT and Reyataz. I refused to take AZT because of Lipo association. I ended up taking Ziagen, Viread and Reyataz. VL went undetectable and CD4 count went up to 950. Since then my VL started going up and down between 60 and 100. VL from 950 to 1100. My doc was trying several times to get a resistance test but it was impossible with such a low vi. That is until 3 days ago when the lab managed to maximize my VL of 60 copies and found resistance to Ziagen. My doc gave me 3 options. 1- Tenofovir, AZT and Darunavir ( which he put me on 4 weeks ago anyways)2- Tenofovir, FTC, Reltegravir, Darunavir3- Tenofovir, Ftc, Etravirine, DarunavirHe thinks if I keep refusing taking AZT that I am compromising my future options since we will have to use 2 of 3 new drugs available in option 2 and 3. Now, I have not been sleeping in 3 days, can not study at all ( I am in University studying Biomedical Science with Microbiology) I do not know what to do. It is so hard to choose between the quantity and the quality of life. If you guys can help me with any ideas or thoughts about my situation I would really appreciate it. Thanks in advance.

I can't tell you which meds to go on but I would say put your health first and don't let fear of lipo compromise your treatment. Remember not everyone gets lipo. Also I'm surprised you would even want to switch combos with a VL between 60 and 100 and (what I assume you met) CD4 between 950 and 1100. Those are good numbers.

There are people on here who know a lot more about medications than I but that is my 2 cents.

Thanks for the reply GSOgymrat. By the way, I have read and listened to your interview on The Body several times. I also checked out your website. I just wanted to thank you for sharing your experience with others. You have been an inspiration to me and probably to many others to never give up. Well, my doc does not want me to stay on my current meds for the fear of possible resistance since my VL in not under 50 copies. But does it really matter if my VL is 60 to 100 and not 50, I am not sure. Such a minimal VL should not really make a difference. I am really thinking about taking AZT and hope for the best.

Welcome to our forums! Do you know what kind of resistance test your doctor ordered? If it's hard to get in touch with him, you can always call his office and ask them to mail you a copy of the results for your records. I always do this when I go for appointments, and I keep a file of all my blood results.

The reason why I'm asking is that it might be worth getting a 2nd opinion on this. It would be great if besides a phenotype resistance test, you also had a genotype done. That way, you could get a better sense of your resistance situation to the NRTIs (like Ziagen, etc.).

Often times, a person might have "partial" resistance. In other words, folks are not always just resistant or not -- there's a big in between. I take Truvada, even though I'm partially resistant to one of the drugs in this combo NRTI pill.

FYI -- you've got plenty of time to make a decision. Your VL is extremely low, and there's no need to switch therapy at this time if you don't have to.

If you did get a genotype done, please post all the results here, and we'll give you a 2nd opinion. There are some cool online tools for calculating your resistance profile based on your genotype results.